Israeli Knesset Works to Repatriate Sudanese

The Knesset lobby that deals with illegal migrant workers convened on Wednesday. Among the issues discussed was the Justice Department's freezing of the voluntary return processing facility. Reports say that about 2,000 Sudanese civilians sought assistance from the program to return to their native soil.

Member of Knesset Ayelet Shaked (Jewish Home Party) called for the program to be started up again. "The Ministry of Justice is pondering the question of "what is free will," she stated, "and the Foreign Ministry is wasting valuable time in giving approval to the Ministry of Justice. This foot-dragging is preventing the ability to move forward and solve the problem."

Shaked added that the Foreign Ministry has declared that South Sudan is no longer a danger zone and care is taken to ensure Sudanese citizens will not be sent into war torn regions.

The majority of illegal migrant workers are from Eritrea and the minority are from Sudan. Many came before South Sudan declared independence. Government officials have declared that the overwhelming majority of persons in question do not fall under the category of refugees but infiltrated through Israel's southern border for employment opportunities.